The Ecological Footprint measures a population’s demand for resources to satisfy its needs and to absorb all the waste it generated.

Ecological overshoot began in the early 1970s when the total demand for resources exceeded the Earth's regeneration capacity (bio-capacity).

The 'overshoot' is a deficit that occurs when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services (Ecological Footprint) in a given year exceeds what the Earth can regenerate in that year (bio-capacity).

The Earth Overshoot Day this year fell on 29 July. By this day we had consumed more resources than the Earth could regenerate. There was a 4.6% increase in the global Ecological Footprint in 2021 compared to 2020. The biocapacity, however, decreased by 0.5% due to the Amazon deforestation.

Many countries use more natural resources (Ecological Footprint) than their ecosystems can regenerate. For example, if everyone started living like the residents of the USA, we would require 5 Earths to fulfil our needs

 

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